reinventing rogue realities since 1994.

Some people are driven to think about topics deeply, while others avoid situations that require them to think. People high in Need for Cognition routinely spend the time and effort necessary to learn new things, simply because they enjoy the process of learning.

Why is the controversy so important? Eleven percent of American school-age children have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Astonishingly, one in five boys aged 14-17 have been thus classified. Among those currently labelled as having ADHD, two-thirds are on prescription drugs.

The DSM is likely to lead to even more ADHD diagnoses, particularly for teenagers and adults. The prior DSM, published in 1994, required symptoms to be present before the age of seven. The new version raises that to 12. Adults no longer have to present six symptoms to be diagnosed. The new threshold is five.

On the other hand, my dad never reminded me not to smoke, or to drink, or to take drugs, or to engage in premarital sex. He never reminded me to practice safe sex, either. He never reminded me about sexually transmitted diseases. He never reminded me about HIV.

Philanthropists have heeded the cautionary tale of Khodorkovsky, supporting cultural and charitable activities while avoiding issues like human rights, the environment, Chechnya and freedom of the press. Meanwhile, the Russian government has imposed increasingly oppressive regulations on NGOs and foreign donations. In September 2012, Russia expelled the US Agency for International Development, which supported election oversight and human rights organizations. As Russia repositions itself as a donor country and makes it increasingly hard for outsiders to support Russian NGOs, foreign aid is drying up. This has caused difficulties for politically contentious Russian NGOs, many of which have relied on foreign support to survive. But a lack of funding isn’t the worst of it: in March, prosecutors raided the offices of hundreds of NGOs, searching for violations of a recent law intended to prevent foreign meddling in Russian politics, and to provide an easy way to close down troublesome NGOs.